Around the country in just a few days

For the past 5 days, I've been down south and up again; from the flat plains of Canterbury to the bustling streets of Auckland then to home-town Hamilton... one last stop will be Wellington - tomorrow morning at 7am.

I have found something over these few days...trust. Trust that AIESEC in New Zealand is in good hands at LC level. I believe that with their continued determination and leadership, they will be successful.

It's given me a lot of time to see patterns...to see where we need to shift and regroup our energy.

I also realised how important it is to keep a strong alumni network and database. Really need to work on it now. It's amazing how quickly people move and change their contact details. In just a couple of years of not updating the DB, we've already lost a large majority of our alumni from the list and while working on updating the old list, we still need to add to the new one.

We have a focused strategy this year: engage all stakeholders; develop talent. Nothing will stop us from following through.

More later...

Why you are here...

Ricky from AIESEC in Hong Kong wrote:

I still remember in the Leadership Team Meets 05...
My mentor (Hong :) ) told me that AIESEC is a place for you to dream....
I didn't quite get it at that moment...
I didn't quite get it when I was in IC05...
I didn't quite get it when I was working days and nights for NLDS...
I didn't quite get it even when I was in IC06....

But I get it now...

When you are so involved, engaged and devoted to what you are doing...sometimes you just take it for granted...
Though you make this mistake so many times, you still will make the same mistake again and again...
So, just dream what you dream....and do what you dream....treasure your time in this organization, don't let any of the opportunities to slip through your fingers, get hold of them, do you best, always...
There are not many places in this world you can dream...
Sometimes...Reality is cruel....
Enjoy your time here....
It shouldn't take a long time, maybe just 1 or 2 years later, you will realize how wonderful this place is...

Ricky is an alumni of AIESEC in Hong Kong now.

There was a moment in the lowest and hardest time of my AIESEC career when I looked in the mirror and asked myself "Why are you here...?" The answer is because I want to ensure more and more people get the opportunity to experience what I've experienced; grow like I've grown over the years; discover what I've discovered.

To create more opportunities to dream.